Road to Reality (2 page)

Mac was making his way back to his car after running for close to forty minutes when he heard a child’s scream, followed by a shout.  He turned, saw a young woman racing toward a child on the ground at the playground, and took off in a sprint.

“Zoe!” the woman had yelled as she rushed to the tiny form on the ground.  The child was lying on her back, not responding. “Zoe!”

She started to pick her up when Mac shouted, “Don’t move her.”

Mac hadn’t seen what happened, but he could hazard a guess.  The little girl on the ground was unmoving and he needed to see what injuries she had before anyone touched her. “I’m a doctor; don’t touch her. Let me look at her.”

The woman scooted back and knelt down by Zoe’s body.  He appreciated that she did as she was told and didn’t just react out of fear.

Mac found the little girl’s pulse and made a mental note it was rapid at the moment. He gently placed his hands behind her head and discovered a bump starting to form under his fingers.  At the touch of his fingers, the little girl moved and opened her eyes. Bright blue and confused. 

“Mommy,” she cried pitifully, trying to sit up.

“It’s OK, Zoe, I’m here. You fell, honey. Lie still for a moment, OK?” The little girl’s mother spoke urgently, while maintaining a calm exterior.

“Hi, Zoe. My name’s Mac and I am a doctor. I’m going to help you.  Can you be a good girl and answer some questions for me, please?” he asked gently.  Zoe’s eyes were clear now, good sign, probably knocked herself out when she landed, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

“Should we call an ambulance?” someone asked from the crowd that had started to gather.

Zoe’s mother turned questioning eyes on Mac.  “She definitely needs to go to the ER, but we can drive there quicker ourselves,” he responded.

“How many fingers am I holding up, Zoe?” Mac asked, watching the big round tears roll down her cheeks. Otherwise she was staying surprisingly calm, just like her mother. 

“One,” Zoe answered, her little voice quaking as she tried to sit up and looked around.

“Very good. Does anything hurt other than your head?” Mac asked, running his hands down her body checking for injuries. He could see Zoe stop and try to think, but she screamed before she could answer when Mac touched her wrist. “She might have broken her wrist. I can’t tell for sure without an X-ray, so let’s get her to the hospital.” Mac scooped Zoe up in his arms.

Zoe’s mother looked confused and frozen to the spot. “We walked,” she explained. “I didn’t drive here.”

“Mommy, it hurts,” Zoe said, reaching for her mother.

“I’ve got her,” Mac said, cradling Zoe gently in his arms. “I’m sorry, what’s your name?”

“Beth”

“OK. Beth, my car is over there.” He nodded his head to his BMW a short distance away. “I can get her there faster so grab whatever you have and let’s move.”

Beth followed him on autopilot to his car but stopped when she opened the back door. “Wait, she can’t ride in there without her car seat.”

It hadn’t even occurred to Mac. Regardless, he still knew he could get to the hospital quicker than an ambulance being dispatched and sent over, then driving them back again, even with a stop for the car seat at her house. “You walked, how far away do you live?”

“Three blocks away.”

“Climb in the back and buckle her on your lap. I’ll drive slowly for three blocks.”

Beth hesitantly climbed into the backseat, Mac placed Zoe—who was quietly sobbing now—on her mother’s lap while Beth buckled Zoe in the best she could. “We’re going to get your car dirty.”

“What? Who cares? It’s a car,” he said, then started the engine and followed her directions to her house.

Two minutes later, Beth hopped out in front of her house with Zoe in her arms. Mac was at her side opening the door to her little Honda. “Let me get her for you, and I’ll follow you to the hospital.”

Beth stepped back while Mac expertly buckled Zoe in. “I don’t know where it is. The hospital, that is, I just moved here,” she went on to explain.

“Follow me then,” Mac ordered her over his shoulder as he was jumping back in his own car.

***

“Dr. Malone,” the receptionist in the ER called out when Mac made his way past her carrying Zoe in his arms. He bypassed the admissions counter and went around to the side where patients could come and go freely.

Mac walked into the nurse’s station and saw a few nurses standing around at the counter.  Thankfully it was a slow summer day. “Do you have an open bed?” 

Once he had Zoe settled, he turned to Beth and said, “I’m sorry, I never got your full name.”

“Oh, Beth Campbell, and well, you know that’s Zoe.”

“Beth, I’m Mac, Dr. Malone,” he clarified.  “A nurse will be in soon to gather some information, but you’re going to have to go out and get Zoe registered. Let’s get her get situated in here first, though. They’re going to want to run an X-ray on her wrist and check for a concussion since she was unconscious for a few seconds.”

“All right,” Beth answered, grabbing the chair next to Zoe’s bed and slowly sitting down.

Mac looked on with concern. “Are you OK?”

“I’m fine. Sorry, the adrenaline is wearing off,” she said with a forced smile.

“I know the feeling,” he said, giving her a nod. “I’ll be back in a bit, but you’re in good hands now. Zoe will be fine.”

***

Two long hours later, Beth was checking Zoe out of the hospital with a temporary cast on her wrist. It was just a hairline fracture—most likely occurring when she tried to catch herself from the fall—and a mild concussion.  There had been no sign of Mac, Dr. Malone she corrected herself, for over an hour. He must have gone home, she guessed. 

She’d had plenty of time to think back to the events of the last few hours, along with Zoe’s rescuer.  Dr. Malone sure didn’t look like any doctor she had ever seen before.  He looked young—she would bet early-to mid-thirties. The stylist in her couldn’t help but notice his dark wavy hair.  Hair that made his eyes seem lighter than they were. And he was tall. Boy was he tall. She was tall for a woman, but she didn’t feel tall next to him at all.  For once in her life, she actually thought of herself as short, and that was an odd feeling.  He was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome.

She wondered what type of doctor he was, probably a surgeon. Either way, he had a great bedside manner. Zoe had no problem letting him carry her, and Zoe always shied away from men, having never had any man in her life.  But Zoe was totally fine with Dr. Malone. Of course Beth was totally fine with him, too.  Not that she was thinking of him that way, or any way at all, because he was way out of her league. 

“Here are Zoe’s discharge papers.” The nurse handed them over to Beth. “Follow up with an orthopedist on Monday. Call this number, and they will put a permanent cast on Zoe’s wrist, and then follow up with her pediatrician or primary doctor in a week for the concussion.”

“Oh,” Beth said, hesitating. “I don’t have a pediatrician yet, or primary doctor. We moved here a month ago and I haven’t had time.”

“No problem,” the nurse said. “Do you need a referral? We have plenty of good pediatricians on staff. Their offices are in the Medical Arts building.”

“Sure, that would be great,” Beth said, relieved.

“All set to leave, Zoe?” Dr. Malone asked when he came around the corner. His hair, she couldn’t help but notice, was damp indicating a possible shower. Along with a change of clothing—slacks and dress shirt. “Looks like you got a pretty new accessory there on your wrist.”

Zoe turned her big blue eyes on Dr. Malone adoringly. “Look,” she said, giggling. “White. I get a color next.”

Dr. Malone’s face softened, gleaming with what looked like amusement toward Zoe as she smiled and giggled while pointing to her cast, her eyes all glossy.  “Yes, you can. They have lots of pretty colors to choose from,” he said, then tweaked her nose, making her giggle some more.

The nurse interrupted and addressed Beth. “Matter of fact, you can’t get a better referral than Dr. Malone since you already met him.”

“Huh,” Beth asked stupidly. She was too busy paying attention to the handsome doctor her three-year-old daughter was currently flirting with rather than what the nurse just said.  A handsome doctor who seemed to be flirting right back when he commented on how cute her ponytail looked on top of her head, causing more giggles from Zoe. 

Beth felt like giggling herself at the moment. No doubt about it, he looked like a doctor now, and a pretty hot one at that.

“Dr. Malone is one of the pediatricians in the Medical Arts building.  If you need a referral you’ve got one right here,” the nurse said, adding her own flirtatious smile towards him.

“Thanks, Melissa,” Dr. Malone said to the nurse, then turned to Beth. “You said you were new to the area. I’m assuming Zoe doesn’t have a doctor yet?”  When Beth nodded, he continued. “Call my office. Melissa can write the number down for you. Set up an appointment on Monday, explain the situation, and they will get you in to see me by Friday at the latest.”

“Sure, Dr. Malone,” Melissa replied, reaching for the papers in Beth’s hand and adding the information. 

He leaned down, putting his face level with Zoe’s, who was still in Beth’s arms. “You be good. No more monkey bars for you for a while, okay?”

“No more,” Zoe replied shyly, then buried her face into Beth’s neck.

Beth wasn’t sure where the giggling girl went, but Zoe was getting tired. She snuggled into Beth’s shoulder after she laid her head down.  It had been a long day, for both of them.

“Thank you once again, Dr. Malone,” Beth addressed him.  “For everything.”

“I guess I was in the right place at the right time.” He smiled at her, then turned his smile on Zoe, who was battling to keep her eyes open. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Don’t let our mother catch you doing that.”

Mac turned at the sound of his sister Brooke’s voice.  She was walking up the driveway holding hands with Lucas, which was why he didn’t hear them approach. 

Dropping the hedge trimmers and his gloves on the ground, he met them halfway. “Well, hello there Mrs. Mathews.” He beamed at her, and her whisky-colored eyes—the same as his—beamed right back. 

Before Brooke knew it, she was being lifted off the ground in a bear hug, one of Mac’s specialties. “You’re crushing me,” she said, laughing, but hugged him back just the same. 

After Mac set her on the ground, he shook hands with his new brother-in-law. “Welcome back. Have a nice time?”

Lucas grinned and slipped his arm around Brooke’s waist. “The best. We might have to go back again just to recover from the honeymoon,” he said, adding a wink to his bride.

Like clockwork, Brooke blushed and had both men laughing. Clearing her throat, she addressed Mac.  “Wow, the contractors are moving fast, aren’t they?  That addition is going to be massive.”  Her eyes rested on the framing next to the existing cedar-sided house.

“Yes, the foundation was poured the day before I left for your wedding.  I can’t wait, but thankfully the rest of the house was in good shape. Thanks again, Lucas, for letting me know about this property.”

“You’re welcome. I wasn’t sure if you were serious when you expressed an interest in the lake last summer. Properties always go fast so I’m glad I thought of it when my parents told me the Wilson’s were moving to Florida permanently.”

“Luckily the main house was all remodeled in the last few years, and I actually like what they did. But overall, the house is too small for me. Come in and I’ll show you the plans,” Mac said. “Let me put this stuff away first.” He grabbed the trimmers and his gloves on his way to the garage to hang them back in their proper place.

Brooke, never one to let an opportunity to pick on Mac slip by, asked, “Are you sure you know how to use those clippers, or were you trying to let the neighbors think that you do?”

Their mother would never approve of either of her children doing anything remotely close to manual labor.  Their parents’ property was properly maintained by a service once a week. They also had a cook and housekeeper who took care of all the chores inside the massive house, leaving their mother all the time in the world to live the life of the perfect pampered housewife.  Something she took great pride in.

Mac teased her right back, refusing to let Brooke off the hook. “I won’t tell her about your gardening if you don’t tell her about mine.” They both laughed and made their way into the house.

After grabbing two bottles of water from the stainless steel refrigerator and handing Lucas a beer, Mac moved over to the island where the construction plans were laid out. 

“You went with Harper Construction I see. They do great work. It looks like you’re doubling the size of the house,” Lucas mused, looking over the plans.

“Pretty much.  I like the kitchen as is, but having that little nook as the only eating area isn’t enough. It’s enough for me right now, but I don’t plan on always living alone.  Besides, the living room is way too small, so we’re blowing the wall out, expanding the living room and putting in a formal dining room and an office on the main floor.”

Mac flipped to another set of plans.  “The master is nice upstairs, but again too small, and there’s no master bath. I’m having a bigger master suite built above the new living room, along with another bedroom, so four bedrooms in total when it’s done. Oh, and thanks for the recommendation on Harper’s, too. I’ve been nothing but impressed with Alec and his crew so far.”

“They do top-notch work, built my house and Ryan’s, they’re old family friends, too. Their parents also have a house on the lake. Alec, his siblings, Ryan and I raced around this lake wreaking havoc on the neighbors when we were kids.” He chuckled in remembrance.

Brooke leafed through the pages and pulled out another set of drawings. “What’s this one for?”

“Oh, I’m having a walk-out built out of the foundation. A family room, gym, galley kitchen and guest suite down there similar to Lucas’s. I realized it’s nice for guests to have a place to go. A space to stay out of the way,” he said, with a knowing look at Brooke. He hadn’t wanted to stay at Lucas’s last summer having been extremely uncomfortable knowing his sister was sleeping with Lucas down the hall.  The guest suite in the basement made his stay much easier for everyone.

“Well, it looks like you’ve got everything all planned out. Now you need to live through the construction.” She bumped her shoulder with his.

“That will be the tough part. They said they wouldn’t start knocking down the interior walls until the addition was completed on the outside. But it’s going to be a lot of dust and mess to be living in.  Maybe I should see if they can complete the downstairs first to give me a place to stay out of the way,” he said as an afterthought.

Brooke mused. “Might be a good idea.” Then she changed the subject. “So, save any lives lately?”

Mac was on to her games. She was trying to prevent him from bringing up their honeymoon resulting in Lucas making her blush again. Picking on his career was one of their secret jokes since their father was a cardiologist and had looked down on the fact Mac was a pediatrician.

He saw the twinge of guilt cross her face after she said it though. The last several months her relationship with their father had gotten so much better. Their father was trying.

Like everything else in Mac’s life, he laughed off Brooke’s comment. He never took anything their parents said or did seriously, unlike Brooke. She had a harder time letting things go.  “No lives saved this week. Though, I managed to carry a little girl with a concussion and a broken wrist into the ER yesterday.”  He chuckled at Brooke’s surprised expression and explained.

***

“Girl, you look like something the cat dragged in. I know you didn’t have a heavy date this weekend, so what has you looking so bad? And come over here and let me fix your makeup before you scare all the clients away.” Mitchell ordered her over to his chair and stood in front of her with one hand cocked on the hip of his black skinny jeans. He wore a bright orange shirt with some lettering on it—too small for Beth’s weary mind to read.

Mitchell always made a statement. If it wasn’t with his clothing, then it was with his personality.  And if that wasn’t enough, it was his looks. He was drop dead gorgeous belonging on the cover of
GQ
. If he weren’t so obviously gay he would have women beating down the door for him. 

Beth dropped her bag in the chair at her station and plopped her butt in the chair at Mitchell’s station. She knew she looked bad; she didn’t need him to point it out. At least she knew he would improve on what she tried to do this morning. 

Makeup seemed to be the one thing she wasn’t good at. She could apply it successfully on other people, but she never seemed to get it right on herself.  “It’s been a long weekend.”

Once Beth was seated, Mitchell grabbed some foundations and began mixing colors together on the top of his hand, looking for the desired tone to match Beth’s fair skin.  “Tell me all about your long weekend while I glam you up,” he said, already applying the foundation under her eyes. “I wish you wouldn’t downplay your looks so much. How many times do I have to tell you that you’re gorgeous?”

Beth brushed his comment aside. She didn’t have time to glam herself up regardless of how often Mitchell told her to.  “Zoe fell at the playground Saturday. She got a concussion and fractured her wrist,” she said, eyes immediately watering at the explanation.

Every time she thought of her little girl lying on the ground unconscious, her eyes started to swell up with tears.  She had never been so thankful in her life that a doctor happened to be there.  His statement of “the right place at the right time” had never rung truer.

Mitchell’s hand stopped in mid stroke and his jaw dropped open.  If Beth weren’t so upset over the whole thing she would have laughed at his expression, his mouth forming a big O, his crystal blue eyes large as saucers.

“What are you doing here? Why didn’t you call and tell me? Or take the day off? Where is she right now?” He rattled off questions, not giving her a chance to answer.

That was what Beth loved about Mitchell. He never thought of himself, he always put others first.  They had met in cosmetology school.  Actually, he had already opened up his salon a few years prior—Mitchell’s. But he went back to the school once a year to mentor the new students and let them ask questions of a business owner.  He also offered paid internships for the students so they could better understand the business end of being a stylist.

He always gave back, and he had been taken with Beth and her skill level when they met. He’d even offered her a job on the spot, but she was pregnant at the time, and the thought of raising a child on her own in a strange city held no appeal to her.  Not that moving back home gave her much support either, but it was better than nothing. 

Still, Mitchell had kept in touch and they had become close in the last three years. When he had an open chair two months ago, he begged her to come. He even went so far as to help her find an apartment, trying to make the move as easy as possible for her.

Beth wiped the tears from her eyes, blew her nose and answered, “I have appointments today, and it wouldn’t be good business to cancel, especially when I’m trying to make a name for myself.  I didn’t call you because there wasn’t anything for you to do. She is with Mrs. Wilks right now.” She paused and sniffled some more.  “I’m doing better. Saturday night was the worst though. Zoe was in a lot of pain, and you see all those scary things on TV about concussions, so I kept waking her up to make sure she was all right. In the end I didn’t get much sleep. I even had her sleeping in my bed, which I never do.”  She wiped a few more tears away, forcing Mitchell to reapply the foundation.

“Aw, sweetie, tell me what happened,” Mitchell urged while he went back to work on her makeup.

“She fell off the monkey bars. Luckily there was a doctor who was running in the park and he raced over. He took control of the situation, drove us home and I followed him to the ER.  Ended up he’s a pediatrician. I need to call his office in a bit and set up an appointment for a follow-up on Friday.”

She paused, inhaled deeply, then blew the breath out.  “Her permanent cast was put on this morning. We were lucky enough they could get us in at eight o’clock, so that gave me plenty of time before my first appointment at ten. And here I am, with thirty minutes to spare.” 

He had finished with her makeup, making the bags disappear from her eyes and her face come alive again. Now he was working on her hair. 

She always took pride in her hair because she loved it. It was a thick dirty blonde with natural waves. It had the casual beach look women spent hours trying to achieve.  But today Mitchell decided to style it and she was more than happy to let him, knowing it would relax them both before their first clients arrived.

With her face serious and eyes filling up, threatening to again ruin the work he finished, she asked, “Do you think I’m a bad parent for coming in today?”

He patted her shoulder to reassure her. “No, darling, you’re a wonderful mother, don’t ever think otherwise. Especially since we know you’ve never had any good examples in your life.  Besides, I’m sure Mrs. Wilks is spoiling her rotten at this very moment.”  He pointed at her sternly and narrowed his eyes. “Stop with the tears. I’m not doing your makeup again.”

She gave him a tentative smile at what she knew was his attempt to cheer her up. “Thanks, thanks for saying that. I appreciate it. You know how much I try. I want to be a good mother to her. I want to give her my best.”

“And you do, you know you do. You are a better mother than most. Much better than my mom ever was, and we know she was pretty great.  She even brought me for my first piercing when I was fifteen.  How many mothers have done that?” He laughed when her smile widened a fraction. “So what color cast did our little girl go with this morning? Pink?”

“How’d you guess?” Beth laughed for the first time in almost forty-eight hours.